


The Switch

by Vernonkellen



Category: RWBY
Genre: Atlas Academy, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Light Angst, Mind Switch, i don't know how to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 22:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21996469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vernonkellen/pseuds/Vernonkellen
Summary: When Weiss and Ruby defied Harriet to a real race, they believed it would end with a quick win. A standard track, some obstacles, winning. But when Grimm is added to it, there is no other choice than to adapt. Even when that ends up in using something you never tried and that experimentation results in waking up with a huge headache while in your partner's body.Now they would have to find a way to return or see themselves trapped in each other's body.
Relationships: Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 18
Kudos: 70





	1. A whirlwind of Red and White

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired and a continuation of the 5th chapter of "Thank Me Later! And Later Again!" from SHSL_ex_SOLDIER (And also beta-read by them, thank you so much!).

A few miles out of Mantle, there was a set of abandoned buildings that worked as a training field for Ace ops. This location was usually utilized when either the Atlas training rooms were full of students or when they wanted to add a bit of spice to their training routines. 

Originally a residential outpost for the SDC mines, it resembled a small village. Consisting of a labyrinth of streets and ways, and a huge warehouse at the end, it was perfect for some of the most immersive training, and with the regular Grimm, it was perfect for a challenge

But this time they weren't going to be the ones training. They had come with the first half of team RWBY to test their skills. In all their time they hadn't seen a more close and experienced team of huntresses-in-training... well, former huntresses-in-training.

Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee. Those two were an odd pair. Separately, the first would zoom around and assault your cookie stash in less than a second. The second would freeze you in place with a stare, not to mention if you ever say anything harsh to her friends, she would send you flying with one of her glyphs.

But together...

"Weiss! Weiss! Look! I made a snow angel!" Ruby yelled from the ground.

"Stop rubbing yourself with the snow. You are going to catch a cold if you keep doing that" Weiss replied.

"Aww but it's fun to play in the snow! Don't tell me you never made one?"

Weiss answered shaking her head, which earned a gasp from her partner on the snow. 

“Then we have to make one right now!” Ruby said, sitting and trying to reach Weiss.

“I’m not going to throw myself on the snow just to play with you Ruby, we have things to do.”

“Aww, come on. You’ll enjoy it!” She said.

“No. Now get up,” Weiss answered with a serious face

Ruby pouted at this. However, she still had an ace up the sleeve, a look that only brought misfortune to whoever looked at it.

Weiss saw the signs, silver eyes transforming into the ones of a puppy. She knew what was coming, so, reacting quickly, she looked away and focused her sight on the mountains before the spell could get her. 

“Ruby Rose, don’t you dare put those eyes on me! I assure you they won’t work.”

Ruby stared at her for a few seconds hoping her partner would at least give her a glance but she got nothing and gave up. “Grr party popper”. She muttered.

Soon enough, Weiss offered a hand to help her stand up, but when the crimsonette took the offering hand, instead of rising from the ground, she pulled Weiss down into the snow and rolled with her for a couple of feet.

“Gotcha,” She said, on top of her white-haired partner.

Weiss found herself pinned down under Ruby’s hold, a slight blush forming on her cheeks. Even if she was slightly annoyed for being in the snow, she found it silly that she fell for such an obvious trick. Just by knowing how childish her partner could be, she should have seen it coming.

“Get off me, dolt,” She said with a smile.

“Nope” was the answer. “Not until you make a snow angel with me. Or a snowman,” she said with a smirk. “Do you want to build a snowman?”

“I promise I will be part of your snowy activities. But not right now,” Weiss answered creating a glyph under her partner and raised it a couple of feet so she could stand up. 

Once she was on her feet, she looked at Ruby, who was still whining on the platform above the ground, and chuckled. Weiss dissipated the glyph and she fell face-first to the ground.

When she didn’t move from her spot in the snow Weiss approached her, slightly worried. “Are you ok?”

Ruby didn’t answer with words, she just moved both arms and legs in wide arcs, making another snow angel. Weiss only laughed at her partner’s antics.

“Ahem.”

The sudden call out made Ruby stand up and Weiss compose herself; both girls paid attention.

Some distance away, Clover and Harriet were watching them, the former with an amused look, the later with a slightly annoyed one.

“Can you please focus on your mission?”

“Calm down Harriet, they’re just having some fun. Don’t you remember your rookie days?” Clover countered

“I- uh... shut up.” This seemed to embarrass her.

“Anyways, she’s right. We will be starting in just a minute so I recommend you to get ready.” 

“Sorry!” Both girls apologized.

"You know the task?" He asked.

"Sir, yes sir!" Ruby answered energetically with a salute.

“We know,” Weiss answered rolling her eyes.

It was simple. Get into the warehouse, fetch the marker from Marrow, and return to Clover before Harriet beats them, all while avoiding many obstacles in the way.

“Great, you two and Harriet, get into positions. In any second now, Marro-”

 _“Ready to go, Clov!”_ Marrow interrupted him from the scroll.

“Alright, I guess we are ready.”

Both opponents got on either side of the Ace-op leader now turned referee. To the left was Ruby and Weiss holding hands, to the right was Harriet going solo in an athletic position. 

Clover pulled out a flare gun and loaded it.

“Remember, it doesn’t matter how fair you play, the first to get back here is the winner.” He aimed at the sky. 

“Ready...” Hands held strong. “Set.” Glyphs formed along their path. “Go!”

And they were gone. Both teams were already far from Clover even before the flare had reached high. Two colored blurs could be seen speeding in the distance, one of them leaving a trail of white and red petals while the other left a trail of snow melting lightning.

* * *

After Weiss found a way to use her Glyphs combined with Ruby’s Petal Burst to make her go faster than Harriet, they decided that they needed to perfect that strategy. They discovered that if they would need to use it out of the set path of the training room, Ruby would end up hurt since Weiss could not foresee any sudden directional changes by her partner.

That small incident where Ruby rammed them both during one of their practices was painful but not without lesson. It made them realize that in this position, Weiss was close enough for her to communicate with her speeding partner. So they practiced and practiced until they dominated the technique, and of course until Weiss stopped feeling sick with the speed.

Whenever they had to use their semblances together, both girls would hold hands, not only to stay in the petal burst but to use them as a code. If Ruby needed to deviate from a straight line a small pressure or a word would indicate her partner the exact angle and direction, and the time dilatation glyphs would give her enough reaction time to route them.

A small pressure with her pinkie and they steered right, one with her index and they went left, both middle and ring fingers made a turnaround. The four of them were just a full stop. And of course, any combination with them, filled the gaps.

The race against Harriet was a close one. They kept up with each other with the same level speed for many seconds until Ruby and Weiss started to take the lead by a few feet, and it seemed their opponent didn't receive it well. 

" _When are the obstacles coming, huh?"_ She said through the scroll channel they shared.

 _"Fore!"_ Elm shouted.

Soon after, something that looked like a huge rock, landed between the two speeding teams. It was probably launched by Elm. 

“What in Remnant was that?” Weiss yelled, she and Ruby supposed those would be the obstacles. Not even a second after she asked that, another, and another, and another fell down.

Both partners and Harriet had to zigzag in order to avoid any incoming projectiles, most of them falling directly in front of them. But since their reflexes were good enough and they could see the boulders on their way, they easily avoided all of them.

A few miles went like that until the manmade meteors stopped falling, Elm must have run out of them. But that would not be the only obstacle they had to pass. 

“ _Now it’s my turn,” Vine spoke calmly_

He could be seen in the distance, using his aura to elongate his legs until he was well above the ground. Once the speedsters passed under him, Vine started to follow them, using the length of his legs to move just as fast as them and using his arms to strike and swing where they were.

Ruby and Weiss evaded graciously any of his swipes, but they were slowly getting tired. It was a lot of communication and a lot of aura used in so little time. It wasn’t much for now, but it would become exhausting in a while.

However, the challenge was just about to get even harder. 

_“Pack of Grimm coming from the northeast,”_ Marrow informed from the radio. Their final destination was due north.

_“What?! I see another pack from the west!”_

_“Try to hold them off for a while, Elm. Vine, can yo-”_ Clover said.

“ _Wait!_ ” Harriet interrupted them. “ _Can we add them to the course?_ ”

A moment of silence. Vine had stopped following them and they had slowed a bit, deliberating.

“I’d like that” Ruby said, “What do you think Weiss?”

“I admit it would be interesting. I’m sure we can handle them as well.”

_“Alright then, kill the Grimm then get to Marrow. Vine, Elm, stay close just in case.”_

“The team that gets fewer kills pays the other's ammunition for a week!” Harriet yelled, accelerating into full speed.

“Hey! No fair!” Weiss shrieked before Ruby could even open her mouth. No words were exchanged as they accelerated to match Harriet’s speed.

Not much time passed before they saw the first pack of Grimm. It actually wasn't too hard to evade them since they were going barely slower than the speed of sound. One by one the Sabyrs fell down by the huntresses, their scores staying equal, only differing by seconds. 

Harriet hit the Grimm at incredible speeds, only losing a bit of momentum whenever she connected. The strength of her punches at that speed was slightly weaker than a semblance charged hit from Yang but no less devastating. Ruby and Weiss slashed and pierced them respectively in turns while the other took control of their velocity. They lost a considerable chunk of speed but since they were two, their kills were much more efficient.

When the last of the north group was eliminated they ended with a score of 13 - 11, a win for the White and Red pair but this wasn't the final score yet since the other group from the west had not yet been seen. 

It was uneventful along the way until one Sabyr jumped from an alley directly onto Harriet, and another jumped from a low roof onto Ruby and Weiss. They dodged and killed them easily but that made them realize that they wouldn't see them coming since they were coming from the side.

The count was even at 25 and their auras were starting to feel low. The non-stop usage of their semblances had taken a toll on them and evading the incoming Grimm was a mental strain that didn't help at all. Even for the trained huntress that Harriet was, it was starting to become difficult to keep up. The promise of a challenge was already paid and if she were to be honest, she didn't know how her opponents were still fighting. That earned the duo her respect.

But Ruby and Weiss weren't as okay as Harriet thought. Their auras weren't on the red yet but they could drop anytime due to exhaustion. Ruby even doubted they could get back to Clover once they reached the checkpoint, Maybe she could suggest a break once they showed up.

“ _You okay, kids?_ ” Harriet asked them “ _This is eating more aura than I expected. How are you holding up?_ ”

“I think I’m fine, but what about you, Ruby? You’re doing all the effort here.”

“Well, I guess I could use some rest at th-”

Ruby got interrupted by, what it seemed, the alpha of the Sabyr pack breaking through a building right next to Harriet. She could barely evade the Alpha’s claws but not the debris that came after that. A large piece of wood hit her at the back of her right leg and made her stumble, taking away her speed, and then impact a large piece of concrete with her head. She was vulnerable to another attack so Ruby quickly redirected herself and her partner to help her.

A few more Sabyrs appeared behind the Alpha and the partners chose to secure Harriet first. They separated and Weiss took her with a Glyph while Ruby stood there, shooting at the Grimm in a suppressive fire. Once the semiconscious Harriet was out of danger in a building, Weiss used her scroll to call for reinforcements and left to aid her partner. The lesser Sabyrs in front of the alpha jumped at them. Hopefully, Elm and Vine were as close as Clover wanted.

It wasn't as hard as they thought it would be. One by one, the Grimm fell by the huntresses’ blades. But when there were just a couple of them left, Ruby noticed that the Alpha had disappeared. She looked around searching for it while her partner was trying to finish the last of the lesser ones. Then the moment she looked at her she heard a roar from above them. When she looked up she saw the alpha, which had climbed a rooftop and pounced over Weiss. She was struggling with her rapier inside the mouth of the Sabyr. She was definitely going to take a hit.

Ruby had used her semblance a lot more while fighting and knew her aura was probably in the red. Weiss’ fighting style used hers even more than herself so she would be worse than her. Maybe she could resist the first hit but there were two Grimm and very little time. Ruby decided not to risk that. So, thinking quickly and calling for Weiss, she folded her weapon behind her and used the last of her aura to power her semblance at a speed that, before, could only be reached with the aid of her partner. 

She wouldn't let her be harmed, not while she was still standing.

Weiss heard Ruby’s scream from her left. To her right, the Alpha’s fangs were only a few inches away from her, Myrtenaster locked in the jaw of the other Grimm. There was no time to react. As a reflex, she tried to create a glyph but she hadn't changed the dust in her rapier. The result was a time dilatation glyph instead of a gravity one. And she suddenly felt her partner tackling her from the left.

There was no time to steer. Ruby was moving incredibly fast directly at the Grimm when she touched Weiss, and the glyph only raised their speed. She saw no other choice but to try something she had only done once when fighting that Beringel.

Both of them, in Ruby’s semblance, separated into three red and white petal bursts to pass around the Grimm and reform behind it.

A mistake.

Just as they separated, an incredible pain shot through their bodies enough to make them scream. In their agony, they reformed and Ruby let go of Weiss. They stopped seeing red and white and all they saw was blackness.

* * *

Weiss opened her eyes, breathing heavily. She was in a white room, the light almost hurting her eyes. As she regained senses she heard the slow beeping of her heart rate next to the bed. She controlled her breathing but the calm didn't last long.

"Oh, you're awake!" Elm's voice startled her. "I'll go tell the others."

"How long have I slept?" Weiss asked, closing her eyes again and placing her hands over her eyes, a headache returning with her senses. Her voice didn’t sound well, her ears were probably still not functioning properly.

"I'm really sorry but..." She started with a low tone. "It has been 10 years."

"WHAT?!" Her hands went up to her hair in panic as she sat and looked at her in disbelief.

"Hahaha! Naaah, I'm just kidding. It's just been a couple of hours."

She groaned and returned to her previous position, closing her eyes again to deal with the still lingering headache. "I hate you so much." 

"I'll take that as a compliment, Ruby."

 _Ruby?_ "The name is Weiss."

"Naah, I'm pretty sure you're Ruby."

Weiss sat and stared at her again, her hands emphasizing her question. "What do you mean I'm-" But she interrupted herself when she saw her hands. 

Her usual blue gloves were replaced with brown fingerless gloves. Her eyes investigated further seeing that her sleeves were also different. That was confusing, why were her clothes different? Following a hunch, she took the sheets away and quickly looked down confirming what she feared.

"Why am I wearing-" Again she interrupted herself when a few red-tipped strands of hair appeared right in front of her sight.

Was this a joke? Did they really go that far with whatever prank this was and dyed her hair?

"Do you have a mirror?" She couldn't even think of yelling, she had to know what they had done to her hair. In the back of her mind, she tried to ignore how her voice sounded different too.

"I guess this works," Elm passed her a silver tray on a table nearby.

Weiss couldn't even think, she was in a hurry. A hurry that disappeared once she saw her reflection. Not only was her hair different or was she in other clothes, but her face...

_'I have silver eyes. I am Ruby. That's not possible. Am I in Ruby's body? Have we switched bodies? How?...'_

She didn't realize that her rising heart rate was being exposed by the machine she was connected but Elm took notice of it. "Hey, you ok kid?"

"W-where is-” ‘ _Ruby? Weiss?_ ’ “Uhm, where is... my partner?" She asked not knowing what to say.

"Oh! She’s still asleep-" A scream came from another room. “Well, she’s not asleep anymore”.

Weiss, in Ruby’s body, quickly removed the few cords that were connected to her right arm and stood from the bed. But when she went for the first step, she stumbled a little. _‘Of course, Ruby is slightly taller than me and she doesn’t wear heels.’_ She continued walking while holding on to something. She controlled it a few steps later but she still wanted to be sure.

“Where to now?” She asked the Ace-op once she exited the room.

“First room to your right,” Elm answered still sitting and slightly confused

“Thank you.” 

* * *

_‘What’s going on!!... Where am I? And why am I wearing Weiss clothes... Wait a minute, I’m Weiss! But I can’t be Weiss, I’m me!... Uhhh, where am I? Where is she? Is she ok? Ow, my head hurts. My head? Her head? Uuugghh I don’t know what’s going on here!!’_

“Ruby?” She heard just outside of the room, the voice was strangely familiar. When she looked at the door she found... herself!

“AH WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BODY?!”

“Ruby, it’s me, Weiss,” Her body answered.

“Oh... Hi, Weiss... WEISS WHAT HAPPENED?! HOW ARE YOU THERE AND I’M HERE AND-”

“Ruby, breathe,” Weiss said reaching her shoulders “I don’t know what is happening but you need to calm down, we will figure out what is going on together.”

Ruby took a few deep breaths until she felt better and nodded.

“Now, from what I see... You are in my body and I’m in yours, correct?” A nod. “Ok. So it seems that we have... switched minds, as crazy as it sounds. Do you have a clue as to how this happened?”

“Uhm... Ok, the last I remember is that we were fighting Grimm... but from there it’s just fuzzy” She said, now sitting on one side of the bed.

Weiss sighed “Same here, I don’t remember much from that too.”

“Maybe Harriet knows? She was with us there.”

“True, let’s ask her then,” Weiss said helping Ruby to stand up in her heels. “Oh right, be careful.”

Ruby whined with the thought of using those deadly traps for shoes. “I hate you, lady stilts,” She muttered under her breath.

“What did you say?” Weiss asked with slight annoyance.

“Nothing! Let’s go, Weiss!” Ruby said. Elm, who followed Weiss, spoke from the door.

“Alright, I’m so confused right now.”

Both of them looked at each other and then at the entrance. 

“Oh boy. This is going to be weird, isn’t it Weiss?”

“Yes, yes it is. Just... let me explain... at least what I understand...”

Little did they know that it'll only get weirder from here.


	2. Mixing souls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to SHSL_ex_SOLDIER for beta-reading this and giving me so many tips!

The crimsonette Weiss tried her best to explain their situation, but she felt that she had failed when Elm didn't speak for a while. A full uncomfortable minute passed before Weiss finally decided that it was better if she called the rest of the Ace-ops team. Not only to fill them in too but to also help Elm with this.

Clover, Vine, and Marrow were the ones who answered the call, apparently, Harriet was still out cold in her own room of the medical facility, but they wouldn't wait for her to wake up. Not wasting any more time, Weiss repeated herself with the present Ace-ops hoping to clear some confusion, but all they did was just add more numbers to their baffled mix. It wasn't something anyone would hear normally.

"Alright, let's try this again, shall we?" Clover said after a third try from the partners of explaining their case.

“Harriet got incapacitated and you rescued her. You can't remember anything after you started fighting the Alpha. And when you woke up, you were in each other’s body.”

Both partners nodded at the same time but the huntsman looked as if he still was not convinced yet.

"And are you really sure that last part is not a funny joke of yours?"

"What? Of course not!" Weiss snapped. "Why would we pull out a joke about this after we almost died!"

"I don't know, I just say we had done something like that to Marrow once when he was still a rookie," the leader said with a too carefree chuckle. 

"And I'm still seeking revenge," continued the faunus with slight hostility in his tone.

"Well, I can assure you... This is not a joke." The silver-eyed ice queen almost yelled, making Clover, and the ones behind him, shudder from the eerily scathing glare that was never worn by the energetic scythe wielder.

But that look she gave him seemed like the answer to this puzzle because his face turned into an expression of surprise with just the slightest hint of concealed fear. "Wow, you really are Weiss... I'd recognize that look anywhere." 

"Huh? What look?" Ruby, as the white-haired girl, chimed in, standing in front of her partner and analyzing her. She seemed immune to the coldness of the Schnee-glare, and, by his look, Clover couldn't explain that either.

The distraction of her partner put Weiss in surprise. The sudden participation from Ruby also affected the rest and made Clover realize the branching of the conversation.

"Hey, uh... Anyways, why don't we go back to your issue?" He said trying to dissolve the situation.

"Please," Weiss seconded.

"First of all, I apologize for not believing you" Weiss nodded politely and Ruby gave a thumbs up. "Thank you. Now that that is settled, let's make a plan," Clover said.

He stopped for a second to gather his words. 

"Since we don't know how this happened or if this can affect anything else, it would be best if you get some professional help. So we’re going to look for someone who can help you." He stopped to think. "And I think I know just the person who can. So If you excuse me, I'll go make the call."

Clover took out his scroll and went through his contacts as he exited the room.

Once he left, Weiss managed to hear Ruby ask the others about Harriet before tuning out of the conversation as well. The unusual piece of cloth she had hanging from her shoulders was constantly touching her hands and the back of her legs, producing a sensation that wasn't exactly unpleasant but odd for her. She knew, though, that taking the cape away would not be of Ruby's like.

Right there, Weiss' attention shifted to her now white-haired partner. It was a bit difficult to see but she noticed an ever so slight tilt, and to be more precise, a tilt to the same side her bride was located. She deduced that Ruby wasn't comfortable with her hair, and it was understandable, she had only seen Ruby with short hair.

Weiss didn't realize how long she was staring until icy blue eyes were staring back at her.

"Weiss! Hey, Weiss! You heard that? We might know—" Ruby energetically started but then that energy turned into confusion as she added, "Huh, Weiss? Why are you staring at me like that?"

Weiss' train of thought not only stopped but crashed hard as if a Goliath had appeared in the middle of the road, except replace the road with her head. Her cheeks colored a little but she quickly formulated a response despite the embarrassment.

"Oh, it's nothing important. Only that, you know, it's odd to look at my body being so..." Energetic _? Friendly? Cute? _ "... you." She wasn't lying but she wouldn't express the preoccupation she had for her partner, at least not there. Definitely not while with an audience.

"That's actually kinda sad, you know?" Marrow added. "Maybe you should try to be more like her, smile more."

"Are you implying that I am sad person?" She glared at him and he immediately responded by raising his arms in surrender and closing his lips with an imaginary zip. "That's what I thought." After that, she sighed and looked back at Ruby. "What were you saying, Ruby?"

"Oh, right!... Wait, what was I saying?... Uhh, you guys think you could repeat what you said?" She asked both Vine and Elm.

"Sure." Vine nodded and started retelling. "We explained to Ruby here that there is a possible lead to know what occurred to you in the first place. You don't remember anything about it but Harriet might do."

"Wait, she hit her head, wouldn't she had been unconscious?" Weiss asked, remembering how Clover mentioned that earlier.

"Not exactly," Elm continued. "You see after we saved you right before that Grimm had you for lunch — trust me you were really lucky — I went for Harriet, she was still awake and trying to crawl to you. But just when I reached her side, she passed out. She hasn’t woken up ever since."

Weiss thought about it. "Well, it wouldn't be the first time the adrenaline had caused something like that." She paused. "We will need to ask her when she wakes up, I just hope the hit wasn't severe. Thank you for the information, though."

"Hey," Ruby piped up. "I just remembered, does Yang or Blake know about this? I told my sister I would let her know who won the race... Wait, who won the race? Or the bet?"

"I believe it's pretty much a tie, Ruby," Weiss said, ignoring her partner's disappointment even if she felt the same. "But she's right, has Yang or Blake been informed about this?"

"Well... No" Elm said sheepishly. "It needs to be said that we couldn't think of a way to explain to them that you two were knocked out."

"Let's say there is a very high probability that we could end pretty much dead from that." Marrow said at the same time as his teammate.

"Pfft. Naaah. Yang wouldn't do that. Right, Weiss?"

"Honestly, I second that thought. Yang would hurt anyone — except probably Blake — if something happened to you."

"No no no, Yang is really sweet! She would never... Ugh who am I kidding, of course, she would," Ruby admitted in defeat. "Anyways, let me message Yang that we're okay and will be late," Ruby said and looked down for her pockets which weren't there since those weren't her clothes. "Oh right," she said in realization. "Uhm, Weiss can you pass me my scroll? It's in my right pocket" 

Weiss nodded and went for the small pouch on her right thigh, but she didn't find her partner's scroll, instead, she found a small bag.

"Wait it was the other right! The right right is for my secret stash of ahhh—ammunition! Yes, ammunition!" Her partner said as she snatched the bag from Weiss' hands. She was oddly nervous as if something illegal had been found.

"Is that why there were crumbs inside of the pouch?" Weiss asked incredulously. Ruby grinned nervously. "We will talk about this later." And she took back the bag and placed it back where it was found. Then she went to the other pouch and handed the scroll to her partner.

"Thanks," Ruby responded, embarrassed.

After that, Ruby checked her scroll for messages. While she did so, Weiss took the liberty to take her own scroll and the white pouches from her clothes and attach them to the belt she was wearing. She trusted Ruby, but personal belongings were called that for a reason.

"Oh no, five messages from Yang." Ruby read them. "Phew, she thought all this time we were still out of range. Let me tell her we will be going to the doctor... We are going to the doctor, right? Clover said professionals, and I guess doctors are professionals so..." 

Ruby’s voice kept lowering with each sentence, lost in her own thoughts. Silver eyes only looked at her with an eyebrow raised. It seemed that it was the only answer that Ruby needed as she returned to her scroll and typed a message.

"Done. I told her we're going to the doctor... It's good that she never checks the connection status when she messages or she would be looking for me by now." She checked her scroll one last time and blue eyes showed surprise. "Wait. Oh, shoot! It's that the time? How long were we asleep?"

"A few hours," Clover said from the door and returning to the group. "It's almost night time. Luckily, I've got a ride coming for you. Are you ready to go?" 

"Yes, we are," Weiss answered. "Ruby just told our teammates of our plans."

"Okay then, follow me." He said.

Clover dismissed his team and took the girls to the airship platform. He explained that Doctor Pietro Polendina would be checking them and Penny would be there waiting to take them to his laboratory. It took them a little while to reach the place though since they had to go at a snail’s pace thanks to Ruby's constant stumbling. 

"Weiss, I can't walk with these. Can I use my boots?" The clumsy girl asked.

"And what would I wear?" Weiss asked, already opting for the negative.

"Well, your heels?"

Weiss didn't stop long to think about it. She wanted Ruby to feel comfortable in her body but the selfless idea was instantly crushed when she remembered something. Weiss own body would look shorter without her heels and that was an image she wouldn't let anyone in this world - at the exception of her partner - see.

"No," she answered, then forming a somewhat smug smile she continued. "Besides, this is a great opportunity for you to practice walking in high-heels."

Ruby grumbled something Weiss couldn't hear but she knew her partner too well to know that she was cursing the so-called 'lady stilts'.

Luckily it didn't pass long before they arrived at the rendezvous point.

"Salutations, friends Ruby and Weiss," Penny said happily once they were close. But then she blinked rapidly, her eye-focus shifting between both partners repeatedly. "Wait, I think my sensors are not working properly," she tapped the side of her head, trying to fix said error.

"What do you mean?" Ruby interrupted. "Is something wrong with them?"

"It is just my aura sensors that are malfunctioning, Weiss." 

Of course, Penny thought that she was talking to Weiss. The real Weiss, from the crimsonette's body, cringed a little since Penny was another person that needed to be filled in this odd situation. 

"I normally use them in addition to my ocular receptors so I can differentiate Grimm from people when beaming from afar," Penny explained. "I apparently forgot to turn them off, and now I am seeing Ruby where you are and Weiss where Ruby is."

"Don't worry, Penny, you're fine. The ones that are defective are these two." Clover said waving at the white and red duo, who frowned at the comment but did not say otherwise.

"Oh, I see... So that should be the reason behind you wanting to see my dad."

"Exactly." He said.

"Well, the thing is—" Ruby started.

"No, we aren't doing this here," Weiss cut her off before Ruby could say anything.

Ruby looked at Weiss with an uncharacteristic Schnee-pout that somehow looked just as adorable on the face of the ex-heiress. Many would say it is egoistic to be flustered by your own face, but Weiss knew who was behind those eyes, and that became visible on her not so pale cheeks.

"Please let's hurry up," Weiss said. "It's already late and I think that Penny said something really important there." She waited until Penny jumped into the pilot seat, and turned to her partner. "Once we get there we will tell them about what happened, okay Ruby?"

"And why not now?" Ruby insisted.

"Because I'm tired of saying the same thing over and over," She answered with another icy glare at Clover who took a couple of steps back in surrender. He knew well not to upset a Schnee.

The two partners followed Penny into the small airship as Clover waved them off and went back to the medical building, probably to check on his downed teammate. It was a short and uneventful trip, no words were exchanged, probably because they were thinking about the situation at hand. Penny, though, seemed oblivious since she was humming happily as she piloted the ship. 

Weiss was thinking about what had happened only minutes ago. Penny immediately saw the problem and it could be deduced that it was related to their aura. She wished that would be the answer to go back to where she and her partner belonged, but she also had the feeling that it would only give her more questions.

When they landed, they were greeted by Pietro himself in his legged-chair, accompanied by Maria, who never left his side since the whole group first arrived at Mantle. Anyone would think that she had become his assistant by now. Curious.

"Ah, Ms. Rose, Ms. Schnee. It's good to see you again," He spoke.

"What trouble have you gotten into this time?" Maria said, already roasting them.

"It's... uh... complicated," the white-haired girl said sheepishly. 

"And I'm afraid that's the reason why this isn't just a social visit, Dr. Polendina," the crimsonette spoke politely, never forgetting her manners no matter the situation. 

"I may have only known you for nearly a month and I'm very certain that this is wrong," Maria said suspiciously after she recognized both out of character greetings.

"Hmm… Yes, that's quite odd. Please tell me what is afflicting you while we get to my lab," The doctor said gesturing for them to follow him.

Once again, Weiss and Ruby explained their experience. The scientist was amazed by the new discovery, even taking notes as the girls talked. Penny looked interested, she was probably thinking that humans could also change their cores, even when that probably wasn't the case for them. But Maria was inexplicably quiet, simply taking it in stride like when Jinn told a just as outrageous story. 

Knowing her, she probably had given up any attempt to understand. Now that a thing called magic was on the table, anything could be possible.

By the time they reached the lab, the tale was finished. The group entered into the large rectangular room Pietro's laboratory was. Despite it being a high-tech place, it had a lot of space, maybe because of the size of the doctor's chair A couple of machines were at the corners at each side of the entrance, and at the left, a desk and a screen behind it.

While Ruby looked wide-eyed at the machinery in front of her, an expression that was even funnier to see in the white-haired body, Weiss saw Penny trying to get her father's attention.

"Dad, I meant to tell you. When I first saw them, my aura sensors were still activated. And when I looked at them, I was very confused with what I saw, but now I think it makes a lot of sense," Penny said.

Pietro nodded. "Do you think you can show us what you saw?"

"I don't think I can show you my memory banks, but I can show you what I can see live," Penny said, closing her eyes and wirelessly connecting herself to the big screen.

When she opened them again, the screen lit up and showed her field of view. It could have been easily mistaken for an ordinary camera feed if it didn't have lots of numbers, lines, and graphs.

"Activating aura sensors." She said and the screen went clear of digits and showed colors where people were and nameplates appeared over their heads. Penny first looked at Pietro and Maria who were highlighted with their own solid colors. But when she looked at Ruby and Weiss, they weren't shown by the respective red and white, instead, they were an equal mess of both colors.

"Incredible..." Pietro thought out loud. "I've never seen anything like this. It seems that your auras... no... your souls are mixed. Perfectly intertwined with each other." 

"What does that mean?" Ruby asked. "Is that why we aren't in our bodies?"

"Well, not exactly." He started pacing around as he spoke. "You said you were together using your semblances. That must be the cause of this," he said, waving at the screen. "At some point, Ruby, you must have transferred part of your soul to your partner as well as you have received part of hers." 

"So this... mind switch is because our souls aren't in the right place?" Ruby asked slightly confused.

"It's the most likely answer, you are lucky your consciousnesses occupied the place of the other. It would have been disastrous if you had had a body with two minds."

If he'd known about Ozpin and Oscar, then the farm boy would be a lab rat by now.

"But returning to this," he continued "I will need to do some tests to know more about this if you're ok with them of course." He received nods from both girls and then continued. "First of all, I need you to activate your auras," The doctor told them.

They complied with the request. Closing their eyes they reached for their souls and tried to materialize the energy around them... but nothing happened. They tried over and over, visibly struggling, but despite their efforts, they had nothing to show for.

They opened their eyes, both of theirs filled with disappointment and confusion. Something as simple as generating an aura should be easy for them and that worried them.

"I see... I can't say I didn't expect something like this to happen. If I am correct, your souls don't feel complete, so you aren't able to use them... Can you please hold each other’s hand and try again?" Pietro asked.

Both partners shared a glance and did as he asked.

Taking each other's hand they tried again. This time the energy coursed around them, making the barrier visible, but that wasn't the only thing that happened. An unpleasant and strong sensation flowed from the connection their hands formed to both of their heads. It managed to make them stagger from the discomfort which forced them to sever the connection — breaking the barrier as soon as they lost their focus.

"What happened?" Penny asked in concern as she went to help her friends. Maria also got closer to aid them.

"I have no idea why this occurred. Are you okay?" He asked with the same worried expression.

"Yes," Weiss spoke first, panting heavily. As soon as they let go of their hands, the feeling disappeared but it managed to send her to her knees. On the other hand, Ruby was holding her head, still standing. "What happened to us? Why?"

"It's clear that this has to do with your auras activating," Pietro said as he started comprehending. "But the reason for the reaction is unknown to me. Can you tell me what you felt?" He asked.

Ruby spoke this time after she finished recuperating. "I felt as if I was being pulled and pushed at the same time... as if I was rejecting Weiss? Does that make sense?"

"No it doesn't," Weiss said. "But I must say I felt the same. Especially in my head."

Pietro was caught in thought. A long minute passed before he shook his head and spoke again.

"The good part of this is that we are making progress. When you made contact, your souls seemed to have found that part that was missing, letting you access them fully." He explained. "But if I am to find the reason behind that reaction, I would need you to-"

"Hey, I can activate my aura!" Ruby yelled, excitedly interrupting Pietro's petition.

The other four looked at her and observed that she was flaring in white with blotches of red all around the pale-skinned body.

Weiss reacted by doing the same her partner did. She was surprised to find out that she could also activate her aura which shared the pattern but with the colors inverted. "I can too. But... it's slightly difficult to maintain."

"As if you had just unlocked it for the first time?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, just like that," Weiss answered now remembering the old event.

"Interesting, we will have to analyze this in more detail later," he said after taking notes and sighing in relief. "At least there is no need to repeat the last action for now."

"Wait, you want us to try that again?"Weiss asked.

"Eventually, yes." He said. "But I have the feeling that you have already gone through enough for today, so let's try examining you from other points. For example, your semblances."

The first to react was Ruby, still excited. "Oh! I'll go first!" She quickly went out of the room to the large hallway.

The rest looked at her from the frame of the door. Weiss couldn't help but smile at the sudden outburst of energy. She saw her partner stretching and enter an athletic stance when the silver eyes noticed that the footwear of the runner wasn't adequate for what she was about to do. Seeing where this would lead to, Weiss yelled in an attempt to prevent it.

"Ruby wait! You're —" 

She was too late because Ruby had already taken off.

"— wearing heels!"

The blue eyes of the runner widened in horror when they looked down at the footwear. The next step the girl made sent her shooting to the floor.

"Ruby!" Weiss held one hand in front of her focusing on creating a platform so her partner wouldn't fall onto the solid floor. But the glyph never appeared, much to her frustration. It’s a good thing that Penny had thought of saving her friend as well since she used her jet-boots to reach Ruby right before she got hurt.

Weiss quickly went and kneeled next to Ruby, who sat as she recovered from the fright. The rest of them approached with concerned looks.

"I hate you stupid lady stilts," Ruby grumbled. "How did I forget I was wearing those?"

"Please be careful next time," Weiss said. “You should not run while you are in heels"

"But you do that all the time!" 

"And I know how to walk in them," Weiss answered, giving a hand so Ruby could stand up.

"It's good that I managed to catch you in time otherwise that would have hurt a lot," Penny said. "Didn't you say you would use your semblance?"

"Yeah... I, uh... couldn't use my semblance." Ruby said, clearly ashamed of herself 

Weiss tried comforting her by putting a hand on her shoulder when she remembered her own failed attempt. "Well, I couldn't use mine either, but that was probably for the better. Penny would have crashed into it." 

After a nod and a small exchange of looks between the girls, the small talk was over. Pietro gained their attention, maybe he had some clearer insight on this.

"I don't know the reason why you can't access your semblances..." Well, maybe he was just as clueless as them. "But there are still many other options we can use to learn more about it."

And with that, he led them to a larger room where they would be analyzed at a more detailed level. There were many machines that would help them with the task. Some of them had a clean and medical look while others held a more rusty appearance. Ruby looked like she just walked in heaven since there were a lot of compartments with exposed components and those were the first places she went, cooing all the time.

After the excitement receded, they passed a couple of hours in trial and error, but not a lot of successes. They tried many ways to approach their auras and semblances and Pietro even recurred to second opinions with the few colleagues he had.

The doctor tried so many things that he even tried throwing an object without Weiss noticing so her reflexes would do something. That only ended in another failure with a hurt Weiss and a selfless Ruby tending the bruise. 

He sighed. "I'm afraid I can't think of anything else for now. As I see it, your semblances might have lost their connection with your bodies. If I am correct you would need to repeat what you did with your auras but that's only a theory. Souls are still an unknown area for us and years can pass before we find a way to revert what is happening to you. I'm really sorry I can't do more."

Those weren't great news to hear. As huntresses, they relied deeply on their semblances in battle. And not having them meant they would not be able to do anything until they re-learned how to fight, and that wasn't easy.

"It's ok," Ruby said optimistically. "We will find a way to solve this... somehow."

"Maybe we'll have some luck when Harriet tells us what happened," Weiss added, seconding that thought. "Anyways, thank you Dr. Polendina. It has been helpful to know at least what happened to us."

"It's always a pleasure to help. And please keep me informed if something else comes to light." He said and gave them his contact.

Both girls added him and said goodbye to him and Maria. After that, Penny led them back to an airship so they could return to their dorm. It was already late into the night and there were scarcely any people on their way to the vehicle.

The small trip was silent until they reached the airship. Once they were in the air, Penny seemed to feel a little more inquisitive.

"So... how does it feel to be in each other's body?" She asked, breaking the long silence.

It was unexpected for her to speak so suddenly and both girls looked at each other. Weiss had thought only a little about the consequences of this body swap. And she would have thought more into it if Ruby hadn't answered first.

"Well, it's different. I'm not used to having long hair or, well, walking with heels, but I guess that was kinda obvious."

Weiss looked at her partner, her early assumptions being confirmed. She felt slightly guilty, though she couldn't put an explanation for that. "From my perspective," Weiss spoke, "I feel the cape slightly uncomfortable around the neck. But it's not a big deal. Also... well... Ruby's height, to put it simply."

"Interesting." Penny nodded. "At least you are getting to know each other better, right?" Once again, both partners shared a glance, an almost invisible blush coloring their cheeks. "Anyways if you feel something unusual don't hesitate to call my father. He's the best in all of Mantle, Atlas, and dare I say even Remnant, at soul related things!"

"We will, Penny, don't worry."

The airship arrived at the academy soon after the conversation ended. Since it was late, both partners went straight to the dorms. Weiss let Ruby take the heels off taking advantage that there wouldn’t be any witnesses around. Ruby expressed how much she wanted to hit the bed... Odd... It was late, but not that late.

"It's unlikely of you to be sleepy at this hour, are you feeling alright?" Weiss asked with a little concern.

"Yeah, yeah," she yawned "I don't know, I guess all that testing and stuff made me feel really tired."

"Well, this is past the time I sleep," Weiss explained. "I usually feel tired around this time. Maybe you feel tired since you are in my body"

Ruby yawned. "Yeah, maybe."

"Now that I mention it, I am not tired at all," Weiss continued, silver eyes opened with slight excitement. "I feel like I could still do so many things right now." She hummed in thought. "What could I do?"

"Weiss, it's late... Just sleep."

"But I don't want to sleep," she replied. 

"And what are you planning to do?" Ruby asked yawning again. She was getting tired of seeing Weiss' uncharacteristic energy.

"I... Uh... I don't know. What do you usually do?" Weiss asked.

"I count flying zweis," Ruby answered matter-of-factly.

"You what?"

"Yeah, my highest count has been three thousand one hundred and twelve."

Weiss just stared at her. She didn't know if she was joking as the dolt she was or if she was truly lost in the head. "I'll... find out what to do," she answered awkwardly, ending the conversation.

The silence lasted until they arrived at their dorm. Weiss used her scroll to open the door and the lack of light and the sound of snoring from a certain blonde welcomed them. Who would think a radio at max volume would be quieter than her. Perhaps that was an exaggeration, but for the rest of the team, it felt like that.

"Good, they are asleep. We don't have to explain anything yet." Ruby said but yelped instantly at the voice of the faunus.

"Explain what?" Blake asked from the shadows. She was in her bed reading a book with no light, of course.

The partners were so distracted on their way to the dorm that a plan was never made. And after all they discovered, the explanation would be longer than before. 

Weiss was about to answer with a clever and well-designed excuse when Ruby started saying things. Of course, her mouth moved faster than her brain. Hopefully, her improvising skills would be good or they could say goodbye to sleeping that night.

"Oh, uh hi Blake." Ruby, who suddenly remembered that she was expected to act all Weiss-like, greeted with slight nervousness. "I didn't want to explain what happened at the doctor because... we, uh... had quite a session. And now we're, uh, wholly exhausted and we want to sleep... So, why don't we just... reconvene tomorrow and... discuss about it when we are more... refreshed?"

Blake looked at her with a curious look. "Are you okay, Weiss?" She asked. Of course, Blake thought that she was speaking to Weiss. The other half of the team was still unaware of what happened. "You look freaked out."

"Yes, no no... I'm, uh, just really exhausted," the white-haired girl answered.

"Uh, okay then," Blake answered rising an eyebrow. The emotionless face she held made it difficult for the other two to know if Ruby was going the right way. Luckily for them, Blake let go. She almost looked tired too.

Ruby collected the neatly folded pajamas from Weiss bed, it wasn't difficult locating them at all since Weiss was extremely organized. Then, Ruby entered the bathroom to change her clothes and quickly locked the door behind her.

"Is everything okay? Did something happen there?" Blake asked the other girl present. 

"Uh... you heard her. She's tired, that's all... You know, aura and... stuff." Weiss answered as quickly as she could. The result was awkward but hopefully, it would pass as the awkwardness Ruby used to show. "Why don't we just... follow her words and talk about this in the morning? It's late and we all should be asleep by now."

"Yeah, it is. Better do that or Weiss might ground us." The faunus answered with a smile, completely oblivious that Weiss was actually in front of her and not in the bathroom.

After marking the page of the book, Blake laid in her bed and closed her eyes.

"Good night, Ruby." Another reminder of the unpleasant conversation they had for the next day.

"Good night... Blake," Weiss answered not believing what the silver eyes she was seeing through just witnessed.

It all worked... And Weiss was flabbergasted. She didn't know how Ruby's awkwardness saved the night but it did and that was what mattered. But still, the feeling didn't go away. Her brain was so fried with the shock, that she stood there doing nothing until Ruby finished changing her clothes. 

"Is she asleep?" Ruby asked cautiously.

"Yes... I'm going to change my clothes now." Weiss said from Ruby's body, instinctively going for her own bed, looking for a set of clothes that wasn't there anymore. "Hey, where are my pajamas?"

"Uhm... I'm using them?" Ruby said.

"Why are yo-" Weiss started to ask but when she looked at her partner, who was still trapped in a body that wasn't hers, Weiss realized the mistake in her action. "Oh. Yes, you're right." Then she moved to Ruby's drawer, took her clothes and went to the bathroom.

She took some time to decipher how to take the red-themed clothes off but she managed to finish her night routine at a decent time. When she stepped out of the bathroom, she saw a white-haired girl preparing to sleep on the top bunk.

"I think you shouldn't sleep there for tonight, Ruby," Weiss said quietly. She didn't want to wake her faunus teammate up.

"Why?"

"Because I don't think we would hear the end of it if Blake or Yang find out that 'Weiss' is sleeping in 'Ruby's' bed or vice versa."

Of course, if Ruby was sleepy she wouldn't want her dreams to be interrupted.

"Oh… Yeah, you're right," Ruby said and climbed down to the bottom bed. "Hey, uh, about tomorrow's talk. What do you say if we tell them after breakfast?" Ruby asked again. Perhaps that was a good idea.

"Yes, I think we can. It would be good if we plan what to say."

"Well actually," Ruby said sheepishly. "I kinda wanted to sleep more than usual."

Weiss didn't see that coming though she should have. Of course, the dolt of her partner would want to sleep more. "Good night, Ruby," Weiss said and climbed to the top bunk bed.

Her partner chuckled. "Good night Weiss, sweet dreams!" 

Already laying in bed, Weiss couldn't stop thinking about what happened that day and what would happen next. Her head was so full of ideas and her body so full of energy that she even tried to count a few zweis as Ruby recommended. But it was futile. She just couldn't sleep.

A couple of minutes passed until Weiss gave up and opened her eyes again. She had been knocked out for so long but she felt it had been a long day. And even with that, she felt she still had a lot of energy. Perhaps the gods wanted her to have a long night too. She swore she would find the four relics only to give those two a piece of her mind. 

But boredom was coming and Weiss had the mission of finding something to do before she went insane.

_ How can Ruby survive every night like this? _ She thought. Then she remembered how Penny said that they would get to know each other. And she was right.

This was another level of bonding experience between partners... And Weiss was scared of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took so long to update this story, between life and rewrites, I ended up taking a month to do so. I promise I will try to have the next chapter in less than that.
> 
> Now, I hope you liked it and thank you for passing by. Also don't hesitate in leaving a comment if you want to, I appreciate the feedback.


	3. Ripping off the band-aid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! I hope you're doing well and taking care of all this virus stuff. I have to apologize it took me so long to get this chapter done. I guess I underestimated the emotional impact quarantine would have on me, I lost the will to do pretty much everything, I even stopped reading fanfiction at all.  
> Luckily, with the announcement of this Volume, I started to recover that spark, and finally publish this chapter. So, since you aren't here hear my life... Read and Enjoy!

Ruby woke up to find darkness filling the room. She thought she had woken up by one of those dreams people would forget immediately, so she tried to close her eyes and fall asleep again. But as much as she tried and counted jumping sheep -or more precisely bouncing Zweis-, she couldn't return to her dream world. 

Part of her felt tired, wanting to go back to sleep so she had full energy for the coming day. On the other hand, she felt a need to move, leave her bed and probably... do stuff? Why would she do that when she was so comfortable and warm in her bed?

She certainly didn’t know but, she opened her eyes as she couldn’t get to sleep again. The room was still dark. Ruby got curious about the time, so she took her scroll and checked. It was 6:45 in the morning which earned her surprise. 

Sitting on the bed, she tried to look around, but the lack of light didn't let her recognize much of her surroundings. She found the source of the darkness when she looked at her right, to the window, and saw that it still had the tint they used instead of a curtain.

It was supposed to be Weiss’ responsibility to clear the tint and let light enter the room since she was the first to wake up, but apparently, she hadn't done that. Ruby wondered if her partner was still sleeping in the bed below, so she quickly moved to check if that was the case.

Laying horizontally on her bed and placing her hands at the edge so she couldn’t fall, she moved her head down to peek under the upper bunk and see her partner's bottom bed. Only to be interrupted abruptly by a hard surface.

"Ouch," she groaned and sat back on the bed, placing both hands on top of her head.

Feeling a braid with her hands confused Ruby. However, she instantly remembered the reason why there was a braid there. She was still in Weiss' body.

When Ruby woke up, she thought the events from the day before had been only a strange dream, but as it seemed, it was all real. Ruby groaned by both the realization and the headache she started to feel thanks to the hit against the floor.

Leaving the bed, and still rubbing the top of her head, Ruby moved to clear the window as Weiss would have done, the small interaction putting a smile on her face. Atlas technology was truly amazing. Why use curtains when you can make the glass darken with the press of a button.

Ending her moment of admiration towards the window, she returned to being curious about why she had woken up before Weiss. Normally, she would have stayed in bed until Weiss woke her up or until the bed -in a way of speaking- kicked her out of it.

Speaking of Weiss, Ruby needed to wake her up, she felt insecure and lost whenever she had to think about their current condition. The sooner they decided what and how to say, the sooner they would talk to their teammates and the awkwardness would become... less awkward. 

However, when Ruby peeked over the top bed -the small difference of height obliged her to stand on her toes- she discovered that Weiss was not there. Ruby was confused about why Weiss would leave the dorm without clearing the window if she got up earlier than her.

Ruby examined for any clue that would tell her where her partner went but she couldn’t find much more than the fact that her own red clothes and Weiss' scroll were gone too. ' _Maybe I can just call her.'_ She thought. 

Ruby took her own scroll and dialed her partner's number. She waited for the beeping to end, but the call was never picked up. She tried a couple more times but the results were the same for each one of them.

 _"Weiss, where are you??"_ Ruby groaned, now a bit too loud.

"Weiss, is everything okay?" A drowsy Blake asked from her bed.

 _'Blake! No, this is bad. Quick Ruby, think!'_ "Y-yes, Blake. Everything is... adequate," Ruby answered perhaps putting a bit too much effort in imitating her partner’s refined language.

Blake’s ears twitched as she raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?” She asked after a second. “Because you just spoke to yourself in third-person," Blake said, now standing from her bed and stretching her arms.

"Oh, it’s nothing. I just remembered that... I haven't... had my coffee yet," Ruby answered slowly, picking up the pace as the excuse was being built. "So I said 'where are you?' because my mind is- w-was somewhere else," She finished as she tried her best to have a totally-not-nervous face.

Ruby felt those emotionless golden eyes piercing at her skull which added even more difficulty in her not getting nervous. She really wanted to scream. Why was it so hard to talk to Blake?

"Well," Blake finally replied. "Why don't you go for it while I take a shower?" Blake suggested as she moved to the bathroom.

"Sure, I'll be back in no time."

Ruby felt incredibly relieved as she moved to the hallway. She was sure she had screwed up that last part. "That went well, I guess," She muttered to herself as she wandered through the deserted hallways. "Now time to find Weiss. If I was her where would I go?" 

A silly idea crossed her mind when she remembered that she was actually halfway there from fully being Weiss. Ruby prepared her best princess voice and spoke to herself.

"I'm Weiss Schnee. I know facts. I'm rich-" she cut herself realizing the last part wasn't true anymore and felt guilty. "Oh. Well, maybe not rich anymore... But I do know facts, er, Weiss knows, so maybe a classroom. No, we aren't students anymore. The library, yes! Weiss might have gone for her coffee so she could be in the cafeteria, too. Or she could be training...Maybe not that last one since she looks like me."

The mumbling continued for a little while until the rumbling of her stomach interrupted her. "Okay then, I guess I can go first to the cafeteria and get something to eat because I'm starving. Maybe she’s there. If that’s not the case then the library goes next... Hopefully, I won’t need to ask anyone about a ‘lost Ruby’... Mission begins!" She finally said with a fist pump. She was relieved that there was no one to see her.

Different from Beacon, Atlas academy's cafeteria looked almost like a restaurant. There was a spacious area where the tables were all lined with four chairs each. Then, on the opposite side of the main entrance, there was a counter where employees got the orders from the students and then delivered them to their respective tables. If team RWBY and company hadn't been Ironwood's guests, the sole price for the service would have led them to bankruptcy.

Luckily for Ruby, the place was almost empty. Only a couple of students, probably as studious as Weiss, were present. Ruby was grateful that none paid attention to her while she got closer to the counter. If being in her partner's body was already messing with her head, being in a spotlight would be too much for her.

"Good morning Ms. Schnee," the Faunus-lady behind the counter greeted her once she came close. "Here for your daily coffee, I guess?" She asked as she took a mug and started preparing it even before confirming the order. Certainly, Weiss would be the kind of customer to order the exact same thing every morning.

"Y-yeah sure," Ruby answered. She wasn't a fan of coffee but she was too timid to refuse the already ongoing order. Besides, she had an inexplicable desire for caffeine at the moment. She might use it after all. "Oh, uh, can you add cream and five sugars to it?"

"Of course, Ms. Schnee,” The girl nodded and continued with the order.

"By any chance, have you seen... Ruby?" Ruby carefully asked. Talking about herself like that felt strange.

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid I haven't seen your partner around here."

"I see. Thank you," Ruby said, a bit disappointed. ' _Guess the library goes next_ ,' she thought.

The girl put the order on the left area of the counter and called for Ruby's attention. She had finished the coffee and had put a sandwich inside of a paper bag next to it, also being part of what Weiss usually ordered. Ruby thanked the young barista for the food and turned to leave.

She left the cafeteria and continued her way to Weiss's next probable location, the library. On the way, she took a sip from the coffee and slowly felt how the caffeine gave her energy and made her feel more alive, only without the hyperactivity the dark beverage usually gave her. She understood now how important coffee was for Weiss. ' _I should learn how to make it. Weiss would like that, right?'_ But for that, she needed to ask her how she liked it, which would be impossible if she didn’t find her first.

The way to the library was mostly uneventful. Only the random couple of students crossing her path and a Neon zooming so fast that Ruby almost spilled her coffee. She didn't know how Neon hadn't gone to detention in such a strict academy. 

Eventually, she finally reached 'The Great Library of Atlas', which wasn't at all just a pretty name. Ruby wondered if it would be the biggest area in the academy, occupying a whole floor of the academy building. For a moment she hesitated to enter, intimidated by the area she would need to search but since she was already there, she decided maybe it was better to just go for it. Ruby entered the area and started looking through the aisles for herself as strange as it could be. She had already finished her coffee when she decided it was best to head to the next area, but, luckily for her, she found on a table near the exit doors, a mess of black-red-ish hair laying over a pile of books with the rest of the body covered by a large red piece of cloth.

_'Found you!’_

Ruby approached the table and examined the scene before waking her up. The idea of Weiss sleeping on a book, as Ruby always did at Beacon, amused the young huntress. Weiss seemed so peaceful there that Ruby even hesitated to interrupt her dreams, but since there were things to be done she decided it was the best to wake her up.

“Weiss...” Ruby called quietly. No response. “Hey, Weiss,” She raised her voice a little. Still no response

She placed a hand on Weiss' shoulder and gave a gentle shake. This time there was a response but not the one Ruby expected

"Dooolt~..." Weiss mumbled in her sleep. "Shut up and eat your cookie..."

Ruby snorted the instant she heard her partner and then started giggling. She never imagined she would be in Weiss' dreams. She would have loved to stay there and learn what else Weiss would reveal but the sleeping girl moved and groaned as her head rose. Ruby had been too loud with her snickering.

Weiss looked around as she scanned her surroundings. Her head stopped when she saw Ruby and confusion briefly showed on her face. Slightly shaking her head the emotion turned into one of annoyance.

"What's so funny?" Weiss asked, rubbing her face with one hand.

"N-nothing, nothing," Ruby said, suppressing her giggles. "Just that you said something interesting in your sleep."

Weiss was visibly embarrassed as her face went red. "What? But I- That's impossible. I've never talked in my sleep."

"Well you just did," Ruby said with a smile and chuckled. "Anyways... What are you doing here?"

Weiss groaned as she stretched on the chair. "Well, shortly after we settled in our bed I realized couldn't sleep. I thought it was probably because of the time we were unconscious yesterday, so, I thought about doing something useful and came here."

"You've been here since last night?" Ruby asked in surprise.

"Yes, I thought I could find some information in this place regarding aura, however, all I could find had been written by Dr. Polendina, and it’s nothing he hadn’t told us already," Weiss said mildly annoyed.

"Well, this place is really big, there should be something else somewhere."

"Perhaps" She groaned. "I’ve only looked through less than a quarter of the library. Though, I’m really not looking to do this today. Even I have my limits," she said. Right after that growl could be heard coming from Weiss’s position. "Uh, I'm starving," She looked at the paper bag Ruby left on the table. "What's that?"

"Oh, this is yours," Ruby answered as she handed her the bag. "I got something to eat before coming here. But then I thought that you might need breakfast too, so I just ate half of it." 

"Thank you," Weiss said as she opened the bag and retrieved the sandwich. "I guess the attendant thought you were me?"

"Yup," Ruby smiled

"And you didn't like the sandwich."

"Nope," She chuckled.

Weiss giggled and took a bite, audibly showing her enjoyment. Ruby felt good as she saw Weiss liking the food, though she had been given what Weiss always ordered, it was obvious she liked it.

“I think we should return to the dorm room. Blake was already awake when I left,” Ruby said.

“Did anything happen there?” Weiss asked with a hint of worry and took another bite.

“I hope not. I just know that it’s incredibly difficult to talk to her while you are pretending to be someone else,” Ruby said awkwardly. “I don't want to do that again. Maybe we should just tell them and end with this."

“I know, though I'm not sure if I really want to,” Weiss said with hesitation.

“Why you say that?” Ruby asked, noticing the tone of her voice.

Weiss sighed. “It’s already embarrassing being like this, not that I have anything against your body, you know what I mean. I’m just afraid of what would happen if word got out of what happened to us. Imagine what would Ironwood say, or my sister... Even my father would mock me because of this,” She said that last part with a bit of animosity

“Weiss, everything is going to be alright,” Ruby said encouragingly. "We will get back to our bodies in no time and then it will just become a fun anecdote from our huntress lives. Not sure about your sister but I'm sure the general would find it funny and would actually need the laugh," Ruby chuckled. "As for your father... who cares?"

Weiss laughed softly at her partner's words. “You are right, who cares what that man says? Certainly, I shouldn't," With those words, Ruby smiled at her even more. "Hey, stop that. It’s strange looking at me having a smile as big as yours.”

“Oh! I get to be happy Weiss while I’m in your body. I know Yang will love this,” As if on queue, Ruby’s scroll started buzzing, earning both girls’ attention. Ruby grabbed it and looked at the screen. “Speak of the devil. It’s Yang... Wait a minute, how is she awake this early in the morning?” Ruby groaned as she moved her finger to the answer button. 

“Wait, I think we should go for what you said earlier, you know, rip-off the band-aid," Weiss said before her partner could answer the call. “Since she wants to talk to you but my voice would be answering the call.”

“That’s true. If she doesn’t hear my voice she’s going to be really confused. And the faster we end with this, the better,” She said. Weiss nodded and Ruby pressed the answer button

“Ruby? You there?” Yang said.

“Hi Yang,” Ruby said, who still sounded like Weiss.

“Weiss? Why do you have Ruby’s scroll?” Yang asked in confusion.

"I-It's complicated. Are you and Blake still in the dorm room?" Ruby asked.

"Uh, yes? Why do-"

"We need to talk, right now. We are on our way."

And with that Ruby hung up the call, not even waiting for Yang to respond.

"I wasn't expecting you to be that bold," Weiss said, surprised by Ruby.

"Hehe, just following what you said I guess," Ruby chuckled sheepishly.

“Well then, I suppose we should go now,” Weiss said while piling the few books she had on the table and standing from the chair. However, when she looked at Ruby -still in her body- her expression showed some displeasure. “Ruby, did you get out of the dorm without my heels?”

Ruby’s icy blue eyes widened as she looked down to her feet and then back to Weiss. Many people missed the fact that there was a height difference just by looking at them with their combat outfits. However that difference was evident whenever Weiss stopped using her heels, and Ruby had moved through the hallways and the cafeteria as if it was her own body.

“S-sorry Weiss. I forgot about that detail,” Ruby said with guilt. “I left the room in a hurry”

Weiss sighed. “It’s okay, I just hope there aren’t many people on our way back. You know how... self-conscious I am about that.”

Ruby nodded sheepishly, and with that, both girls moved out of the library. Luckily for Weiss, the way to their dorm room was deserted. It was still somewhat early and not many people would moving through the hallways until another half an hour. 

Ruby was actually surprised by how Yang was awake so early as if it was a special occasion. Maybe she was forgetting something. Once in front of their room, they stopped for a second. The embarrassment and the anxiety hitting them with the possible reactions from Blake and Yang.

"Are you alright?" Ruby asked Weiss.

"Yes," Weiss answered. "Let's just get this over with."

Ruby nodded and used her scroll to open the door. 

Blake and Yang were fully clothed and having a conversation. Blake sat on her bed, and Yang was on a chair in front of her. By their expressions, the topic wasn't exactly pleasant as they showed worry and slight annoyance. They stopped their chat as soon as they saw the pair out of their room.

"Hey, there you are!" Yang said.

"H-hi Yang," Ruby couldn't stop herself from stuttering which earned a faint grimace from Yang.

"Yep, you were right," she told Blake who now stood next to her with her arms crossed.

"Wait, what's going on?" Ruby asked as she and Weiss entered the room.

"We should be the ones asking that," Blake said calmly "What's up with you two? You've acted incredibly strange since you arrived last night. I was about to leave it as if you were just tired, but this morning we talked, and you were... awkward, and you never are. Add to that the fact that you left the room without your heels and there’s no doubt something’s going on."

Of course, Ruby knew it was directed at her since she was the one who talked to Blake earlier. She looked at her partner next to her, half asking for help and half apologizing. However, Ruby immediately thought it would be better to just go for it and hope for the best.

"I'm not Weiss," the now white-haired girl quickly said, avoiding any kind of visual contact. "I'm Ruby."

Neither Yang nor Blake seemed to expect that answer since they only had looks of surprise and confusion. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Yang seemed to finish processing the news, however, the chuckle she made wasn’t encouraging for the white and red duo.

“Heh, well done Weiss, you finally made a good joke,” She said.

“It isn’t a joke, Yang. She’s telling the truth,” the red-themed girl defended. “She is Ruby and I am Weiss.”

“I can believe that, actually,” Blake said. 

“What? How? Look, if you expect me to believe that, at least they need to show me something as proof,” Yang told Blake and thought for a moment. “Got it. So, if you are Ruby, then only you can answer this question. Where is the autoloader of Ember Celica?”

Ruby got caught up for a second as she thought of the answer, it had been a long time since she helped Yang build her weapon. Eventually, she realized the answer was easy.

“That’s a trick question!” She said excitedly. “Ember Celica doesn’t have an autoloader. The momentum generated by your punches creates enough force to slide the complicated mechanism that shoots the dust, rotates the belt, and loads the next slug.” Ruby finished with a smirk as she pointed confidently to Yang.

Yang’s mouth hung open as she got dumbfounded by who seemed to be her little sister in the body of her partner. “That’s... the exact same thing Ruby told me when she designed it. You really are Ruby,” Yang said, far more surprised than before.

“See? We were telling the truth,” Ruby said.

“Yeah I see now,” Yang said slowly, still trying to process. “Just...H-How?”

"We don't know," Weiss moved in front to explain the recent successes. "You see..."

* * *

Blake and Yang listened in silence as Weiss explained their event in the abandoned town and their visit to the doctor afterward. Both of them sat silently on Blake's bed while Ruby sat on one of the desks they had in the room. After Weiss finished with her tale, no one spoke for around a minute which slowly raised the tension between the white and red duo.

“Well, it could have been worse,” Yang said, breaking the silence. “It’s better than being Grimm food.”

“I guess it is. You are taking it better than I had imagined,” Weiss said.

“Oh come on, there is heavier stuff than that like, you know, magic.”

“Yeah, sadly we haven’t found a way to revert it yet,” Ruby said. “Do you think Oz might come out if we ask for his help with this?” She asked carefully.

"I'm not sure we couldn’t count on that,” Blake said. “Besides, there should be a more logical explanation for this," Blake said. "I mean, you don’t think this was a feat of magic, do you?"

"While he could perhaps lead us to something, be it magic or not, I don't think he would be willing to help us. Not that I would look for his help, anyway” Weiss answered a bit somberly. “Hopefully with a bit more of research, Dr. Polendina could help us find a reason to... this," she said.

"Well, look at the bright side, it's going to be fun having you like this for the time being," Blake added as an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Oh, Haha," Weiss laughed sarcastically.

"I definitely want to see Ruby walking on your heels now," Yang laughed.

"Come on, I hate those things," she whined. "I would prefer to have my clothes back, especially my cape"

Weiss seemed eager to respond but Blake spoke before she could say a word. "I'm actually wondering if this 'change' could affect us as a team," she said a bit worried. “Would this affect us in our performance in missions?"

"Oh shoot, that's true. Ruby and I had a mission for today,” Yang said. “I even got up early and all.”

“Ah, how could I forget?” Ruby panicked. “Nonono. I can’t go on that mission like this! No offense Weiss.” 

“None taken, you are right here. You can’t go on your mission as me, HQ won’t allow such a thing,” Weiss said.

“But if she doesn’t assist it could affect her record,” Blake said. “Maybe you can go instead, Weiss?.”

“What? Why me?”

“Well, you technically are Ruby,” Yang added.

“I guess I am... but still, our semblances aren't working at all, I don’t know how much of a help I can be in your mission,” Weiss said, not sure of endangering Yang and herself.

“Don’t worry about it," Yang reassured. "We just needed to pick off some Sabyr stragglers in the tundra. If you really can't use your glyphs, I’m sure I can carry you out there.”

"If you say so... Then it’s settled," Weiss said with determination and smiled at Ruby. “Well, not that there's much of a choice if your reputation as a huntress is in peril.” Ruby smiled back at her.

“Then let's get going, we have nearly an hour to get to the airfield,” Yang said as she picked up her scroll and moved to the entrance. “We wouldn’t want to be late. Let’s go team WRBY!” she said as she exited the room, earning groans from her teammates.

“She didn’t just say that, did she?” Weiss asked with an unamused expression.

Blake shrugged. “I guess you will have to bear with her for the rest of the day.”

“I’m starting to have second thoughts about this,” Weiss muttered under her breath.

“Come on Weiss, it will be fun. You can even beam the Grimm with my eyes and finish early,” Ruby said excitedly, lightly bouncing next to her.

“But I don’t know how to use them. We don’t know if I can actually use them.”

“Huh, you are right. Oh well, we will have to find out on another occasion,” Ruby smiled, still excited about her silly idea.

Weiss was still somewhat worried about the mission ahead, but looking at the smile from her partner eased the anxiety by a great deal. Perhaps it wouldn’t be as bad as she thought. What would be the worst thing to happen with Yang by her side?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter, I had part of this done earlier this year but got stuck with all that stuff and recently took the time to rewrite most of it. I don't want to promise a date for the next chapter since my next 3-4 weeks are becoming a full-time crunch with my studies and my only fuel to keep going will be RWBY Vol.8 (which btw is freaking amazing), but hopefully, before the year ends, I have another chapter of this story and the first of a plot-heavy story I had been fantasizing for more than a year.
> 
> Please don't hesitate to comment if you have any suggestions or criticism. And remember, if you ever feel downed or without motivation, reach to someone you trust, and also, keep moving forward, one step at a time.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I hope you liked this, it's my first published Fic of RWBY. I came up with this idea a little while ago and was so excited I wanted to give it a try. Tell me what you think about it and any suggestions you have in the comments. And also thanks for stopping by and read.


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